Black-Backed Woodpeckers and Fire Severity: Post Fire Landscape Utilization

Black-backed woodpeckers are very selective in their utilization of burned forests. While their general habitat preferences are generally thought to revolve around high-severity fires, the NCLFA has worked with National Forest and Park staff to inventory and census woodpecker utilization on burned areas. A significant use of these data include use of bird census data for assessing the extent of high severity fires and in post-fire recovery; as these birds stop utilizing burned areas once substantial plant regeneration has occurred. 

Principal Investigator: Jenny Wolf